Iannone : “It bothers me a lot”

11th on the grid in Jerez is Andrea Iannone’s worst Qualifying result since the Catalan GP in 2015, leaving him frustrated.

Both Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso spent the build up to Qualifying looking for rear grip. Ducati had run a test at Jerez in November 2015 but with Michelin having revised their tyres since, the data they found was almost useless. While Dovizioso was able to recover in the 15 minute Q2 session, Andrea Iannone lamented down in 11th spot and was 1.318 seconds off pole position. This is the Italian’s worst Qualifying result since the 2015 Catalan GP when he was 12th, having started every race since in the top ten. The likes of Dovizioso and Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) were able to ride around the issues with grip, Iannone having great difficulty adjusting his style and suffering as a result.

A good start will be vital if Iannone wants to get inside even the top ten, a number of riders behind him also looking for better results and will be out to make up positions early in the race. Tyre wear could be Iannone’s saving grace, the Italian hoping that he can nurse his tyres in the opening laps and strike as the rest of the field starts to fade away later. Iannone has only once finished the Spanish GP while riding in the MotoGP™ World Championship when he was sixth in 2015.

Andrea Iannone: “It bothers me a lot having to start in eleventh place because this is my worst qualifying performance of the year and the rest of the weekend hasn’t been easy either. I’m just not able to ride the bike the way I’m used to and so I’m struggling a lot: it’s difficult for me to accelerate out of the corners and I even have problems going through the corners as well, so all this is penalizing me a lot. It’s a pity, but now we have to try and understand what to do to get back up to the front. Tomorrow we’ll have to get a good start, gain some positions and then see how to run our race, bearing in mind that everyone sooner or later will encounter tyre wear.”